Authors ARE Rockstars- Lisa M. Stasse and a Giveaway

Hey ya’ll Jaime here! Lisa M. Stasse is my Rockstar author today at Two Chicks! Why is she my Rockstar you ask? Well quite simply she wrote an amazing book! I posted my review for The Forsaken and if you want to see how awesome it is check out my review here! Also Lisa is super nice when I asked her to be my rockstar she said yes without hesitation and, she sent me a signed copy of her book and bookmarks! She’s a night owl like me so if you check around on twitter around one a.m. she’ll probably be there. Oh and she can rock a book trailer like no other don’t believe me check it out below! And she graciously offered a copy of The Forsaken for a giveaway today so fill out the rafflecopter form!

About The Forsaken

A thought-provoking and exciting start to a riveting new dystopian trilogy for fans of The Hunger Games. As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the U.S., and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet—having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl. But Alenna can’t help but stand out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to The Wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up. The life expectancy of prisoners on The Wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes. Desperate, she and the other prisoners concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway.

 Lisa M. Stasse was born in New York, and has since lived in Spain, Russia, Hawaii, and North Carolina. She graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Government and English lit, and is currently a digital librarian at UCLA.  Lisa loves watching science fiction movies, cooking Spanish food, and dancing around her house to 80′s music.  She lives in Santa Monica, California with her husband and their two-year-old daughter.  All three of them are learning how to surf.

 Where you can find Lisa.

Website/Twitter/Forsaken Facebook Page

Add The Forsaken to Goodreads

Here’s Lisa’s post:

"My 10 Favorite Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic Movies"

by Lisa M. Stasse, author of The Forsaken

So I've written and talked a lot about my 10 favorite dystopian novels, but I haven't said much about my favorite dystopian movies. Which is weird, because I'm obsessed with movies almost as much as books (especially if they are dystopian/sci fi!) So anyway, here's a list of my 10 favorite dystopian and post-apocalyptic movies, along with some thoughts about each one. I'm staring with #10 and moving up to my #1 favorite dystopian movie of all time. Here we go!

10. THE BOOK OF ELI. Okay, so this isn't the best post-apocalyptic movie of all time or anything, but I have to admit that I did NOT see the huge twist coming. Not at all! That's pretty rare for me. I was completely shocked. I thought this was a very moving, humanistic take on the post-apocalytic genre.

9. TIME OF THE WOLF. A highly disturbing European post-apocalyptic movie about a family in chaos when the apocalypse hits. It is very slow moving, but very powerful. The director, Michael Haneke, seems to specialize in dark and challenging movies (CACHE, his thriller about a family besieged by mysterious and ominous videotapes and drawings, is one of my all-time favorite movies).

8. THE ROAD. This one is so bleak! Talk about no hope. Probably the most downbeat of any post-apocalyptic movie I've ever seen. Viggo Mortenson should probably have got an Oscar nomination for his riveting performance. The movie is not quite as good as the book by Cormac McCarthy, but it's still fantastic.

7. BATTLE ROYALE. Thanks to The Hunger Games, I feel like everyone has heard about this Japenese movie now (due to some similarities in their plots). BATTLE ROYALE is great--super violent and intense. If you like The Hunger Games movie, you should probably watch this one!

6. MINORITY REPORT. This one was definitely an influence on my own novel, THE FORSAKEN, in terms of the whole "we can predict future crimes before they've even happened" element. I love this movie because of its great premise and great performances (yes, even from Tom Cruise!) It's a great mix of thoughtful dystopian stuff and edgy action sequences. Highly recommended.

5. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. A really great movie. It has my favorite dystopian character (Alex) in it. I love most of Stanley Kubrick's movies (THE SHINING is amazing) and this one is no exception. It's super brutal, but paints a disturbingly convincing vision of the future.

4. 28 DAYS LATER. Yes! Gimme the zombie apocalypse! Everything about this movie is fantastic. I've seen it about ten times. Intense, creepy and perfect. (The sequel 28 WEEKS LATER is pretty good too). If zombies are in it, then I am watching it!

3. BLADE RUNNER. Made when Harrison Ford was at the height of his awesomeness, instead of being kind of old and grumpy-looking! ;) I just love this movie so much. I remember renting it in the 90's when I was in high school and loving it obsessively. The premise is awesome (I won't spoil anything for you) and so is the world of the movie. It's just an amazing film. Oh yeah, and Rutger Hauer is in it, in a really badass role, as a rogue "replicant." If you haven't seen it, you really need to!

2. DARK CITY. I saw it in the theater when it came out, and I don't think I fully appreciated its greatness then. My husband is obsessed with this one, so I've watched it a bunch of times with him, and it really grew on me. It's scary, funny, weird--and it has a great twist. Plus some seriously creepy villains, and a pre-24 Kiefer Sutherland. Definitely worth watching.

1. THE MATRIX. I still think is the best all around post-apocalyptic movie. Keanu Reeves is quite easy on the eyes, and it's by far his best role ever. This movie completely blew me away when I first saw it. I haven't watched it in a few years, but it remains incredibly vivid in my memory. I know everyone loves this one, so it's not really a surprising choice for a favorite post-apoc/sci fi movie. But still. It's great! And I'm really excited to see what the Wachowski's do next--have you seen the trailer for their new movie (an adaption of the novel CLOUD ATLAS)? Check it out here: 

So, that's my list! Thank you so much for having me on your blog! I really appreciate it. Come visit me anytime at all the usual places.

Awesome post right? I love all of those movies! Make sure you get a copy of The Forsaken  at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or The Book Depository!

Oh and fill out the Rafflecopter form below for your chance to win a copy!

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Jaime's Review of The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse

The Forsaken

Lisa M Stasse

Hardcover: 384 pages

Release Date: July 10, 2012

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers

ISBN: 1442432659

Source: Finished Copy from the author

Rating: Obsessed!!!!!!

From Goodreads.

A thought-provoking and exciting start to a riveting new dystopian trilogy for fans of The Hunger Games. As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the U.S., and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet—having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl. But Alenna can’t help but stand out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to The Wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up. The life expectancy of prisoners on The Wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes. Desperate, she and the other prisoners concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway.

I asked Lisa to be a part of our Authors Are Rockstars tour and I hadn’t even read The Forsaken but I knew that I desperately wanted to! Lisa was so awesome she said yes and sent me the book to read. I freaking loved every minute of it!!!!!!! This is dystopia done right! It’s gritty and harsh it reminded me of a movie from the 80’s called Gymkata a bit (yeah I know I’m old here’s a link to the IMDB page if you want to see what it is). Now don’t get me wrong the movie and the book are nothing alike but the scenery reminded me a bit of the movie and the crazy hooded tribe who paint’s their faces? Yeah there are crazies in the movie too. Oh and one more thing I totally didn’t get the cover until I finished the book and then it made total sense! Here’s an interview Lisa did about her cover!

What I loved about this story was Lisa didn’t care how attached you became to certain characters or how much you hated others; the island doesn’t care, it doesn’t play favorites and some lived and some died, some were ripped out of our grasp and we didn’t know if they survived or not. It was all very gut wrenching and awesome!

I loved Alenna! She is what a heroine should be! She’s not whiny but if she does complain she has a reason. She learns to fight because that’s what is right and she is loyal to her friends to a fault. I loved her strength and her compassion as well. I loved Liam he’s gorgeous, smart, strong, and just dreamy! He’s also pretty funny too. I also loved the mysterious David and can’t wait to find out more about him. He may be my guy, with his Clark Kent glasses and just overall hawtness.There’s other secondary characters I adored as well Ninja Assassin (don’t ask lol), Gadya, and Rika.

There were so many twists and turns in this story I think I cussed and sais WTH more than a few times. And trust me people you think are bad may not be and people you think you can trust? You may not be able to. And the ending OMG the ending can you rip my heart out and stomp on it any more Lisa? Agh I am dying for book 2 Uprising! I need it now!!!

I chose a passage between Liam and Alenna that made me laugh ;)

This is my first kiss, and I still can’t believe it’s actually happening. His touch is almost too much for me. I press my chest against his, as his hands hold me tight, moving against my body---

Then, coming to my senses, I shove him away from me.

“Ow!” he says. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re what’s wrong,” I snap at him. “This can’t happen. It doesn’t matter how I feel about you. I promised 
Gadya I wouldn’t get involved.”

“Gadya,” he says. “First she dumped me and now she’s trying to stop me from liking another girl?”

“Exactly.” I cross my arms.

He sighs. “You girls always stick together.”

“She said the same thing about you and the other hunters.” I try to compose myself. “Don’t kiss me again.”

Liam looks disappointed, embarrassed, and bemused all at once. “Well, I guess it’s good you’re loyal to your friends,” he finally says, brushing back his hair. “So, I feel kind of stupid right now…” His words trail off. He smiles sheepishly. “Make that really stupid.”

Check out the awesome trailer!!!

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Oh and make sure to come back here tomorrow for Lisa’s Rockstar’s post and a chance to win it!

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The Forsaken (Forsaken - Trilogy)